Winter weather flies into the Crossroads

The first real winter weather of the season whipped through the Crossroads, as the cool front that started blowing in on Wednesday night led to even lower temperatures on Friday morning.

J.R. Robles, of Victoria, heard that cold weather was coming to town, so he headed to Lentz True Value Hardware Thursday afternoon to get an electric heater to replace his old gas unit.

"It's supposed to get cold, and I wanted to replace some old gas units I wasn't feeling very comfortable with now that we're getting this cold weather," Robles said.

Matt Grantham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the temperatures were predicted to dip down to 34 degrees on Friday morning with a high of 67 for the day. The last cold snap in the Crossroads was in March when the temperature fell to 36 degrees.

Temperatures are predicted to be in the 40s on Saturday morning, rising to the 70s during the day, going back up to around 80 degrees on Sunday.

Dave Ivanoski, of Dave's Handyman Service, said he has seen an increase in calls to inspect and clean out fireplaces as the cold weather season has moved in.

Those using their fire places for the first time this season should check to make sure the flue is open. They should also take a flashlight and look up into the fireplace to make sure there aren't any birds living in the chimney. Ivanoski said it's advisable to have fire places inspected every five years, or after burning two chords of wood.

Ray Shannon, the manager of Lentz True Value Hardware, said they saw a few people coming in to get new heaters, but most people won't start buying new heaters until after a cold front has moved through.

Shannon cautioned those starting up their heating units for the first time to check and make sure the heaters are clean and that the pilot lights on gas heaters don't have any leaks.

"They haven't been used all summer, so they really need to be watched," Shannon said.